USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. II > Part 5
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Another to engage in the jewelry trade was True M. Stevens. He did not carry a large stock, but confined himself principally
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History of Littleton.
to repairing watches and jewelry. He is a natural mechanic and skilful workman. His taste for floriculture subsequently led him to go into that business.
Down to 1863 there had been no bookstore nor periodical depot in town. School books only were exposed for sale by a few of the shopkeepers. The sole opportunity the people had for the pur- chase of works of general literature without sending abroad was after 1846, when each year James Smillie, the father of John Smillie, drove his cart hither laden with the publications issued by Phillips, Sampson, & Co. and some other publishers. He was the herald of the advancing army of books that a half-century after were to distract or amuse the many and enlighten the few. Mrs. D. Y. Clark 1 was the pioneer who at that time opened her book- store in the Nelson C. Farr building. The business has continued and increased, and at present is conducted by Edward M. Fisher.
An old-time merchant of a generation ago who occupied a some- what unique position in the trade was Lorenzo Smith, who for a score or more years occupied the westerly store in what is now known as Odd-Fellows' Block. He was not bred to the business, but was a mill-overseer, - a trade he followed many years. Afflicted with asthma, he abandoned his calling and opened this store with a general stock. Mrs. Smith was a woman of refinement and possessed fine taste in regard to the adornments of her sex, and was for a time exceedingly useful in the management of the store. In time she was compelled to devote herself to the duty of caring for her husband's health, and the sons, William and Henry L., assumed charge of the store, and the stock was gradually changed until the business became that of conducting a restaurant. Henry L. married Emma Knapp, a sister of Charles C. Knapp, some- time landlord of the Union House. Their son Walter was a youth of ability and spirit. He was for two years a student in the Chandler Scientific Department of Dartmouth College, but illness prevented his continuing the course, and he died in the autumn of 1891. Mrs. Henry L. Smith married, secondly, Napo- leon B. Dalton, who was in business with A. F. Dow in operating the creamery.
Among the enterprising merchants who were in active business or who survived those we have named into another decade, were Nelson C. Farr, Farr & Southworth, Ephraim W. Farr, Farr & Tilton, Farr & Dow, and Hale, Edson, & Abbott, who were general dealers ; C. & C. F. Eastman and H. L. Tilton & Co., who dealt
1 Some time before this V. N. Bass, publisher of the "Banner," for a short time carried a small stock of books and stationery.
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Merchants.
in hardware, flour, groceries, and grain ; Weeks, Eaton, & Calhoun and Sinclair & Merrill, flour, groceries, and grain ; Bellows & Brackett, hardware and groceries. Those dealing in drugs and medicines were Curtis Gates & Co., successors to F. F. Hodgman, and L. P. Parker & Son, successors to Henry S. Watson, M.D. The tailors were Henry Merrill and Brooks & Co. In the boot and shoe business were Alonzo Weeks, J. Smith Davis, and Tilton Brothers ; in furniture, John Merrill, Sanborn & Weller, and Leach & Smith ; millinery, Miss Ruth Foster, Miss M. E. Green, Mrs. M. L. Poor, and Mrs. Tirrell ; meats and provisions, George N. Hall, George F. Lewis & Co., and J. S. Frye & Co, There were others, but the business of these has, with rare exceptions, been continued through their successors. Two of these firms that had an abundant capital and prosperous trade have ceased to exist. Hale, Edson, & Abbott was merged in G. & G. F. Abbott ; then the stock of their general store was disposed of to other dealers, and the firm succeeded to the drug business of L. P. Parker & Co. Bellows & Brackett dissolved, Mr. Bellows joining with his son William H. in establishing the firm of Bellows & Son, dealers in clothing, crockery, and carpets. Charles W. Brackett continued in the hardware business at the old stand in Tilton's Block until his death in 1891. He was the youngest son of William Brackett, the eminent merchant during the first half of the century. He had been connected with the trade of the town when a young man at the old Brackett store, but in the early fifties, with the inten- tion of growing up with the country, went West and settled in Minnesota ; but the turmoil and rough character of affairs in that new settlement were not to his liking, and after a trial of five years he returned to his native town to re-engage in trade. He was a careful, methodical business man, who looked closely after the details of his affairs, and was slow to venture beyond the beaten path. He was town clerk for two years previous to his departure for the West, but held no other public office.
The men constituting the firm of Hale, Edson, & Abbott were noted in the political and business affairs of the town a generation ago. Samuel Alden Edson was the second of the name to be actively identified with the history of the town. His father, Col. Timothy Alden Edson, filled a considerable space in affairs a half- century before and until age compelled his retirement about 1848. His mother, Betsey Wetherbee, came of a family long prominent in the colonies. Her father, Samuel Wetherbee, was a captain in Colonel Wyman's regiment during the invasion of Canada in 1775, and subsequently one of the pioneers and proprietors of Concord,
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History of Littleton.
Vt., a man of ability and integrity, who was honored by his fellow citizens with an election to office as frequently as he could be induced to accept it. His wife was Miss Johnson, the author of " The Captivity by the French and Indians of a daughter of Mr. James Johnson and Family," a woman of many accomplishments. This couple had fifteen children, of whom eight were daughters, and six of these were, by marriage or through their children, connected with this town, and all married well. The children were Susanna, who married Col. Jonathan Baker, of Charlestown ; Betsey, who became the wife of Col. T. A. Edson ; Lucy, the wife of Cornelius Judevine, the Squire of Concord, Vt .; Caroline, the wife of Squire Guy Ely of this town ; Lucretia, who married Joseph Morse and was the mother of Mrs. John Farr; and Catharine, who married Sylvanus Balch.
Alden Edson, as he was known to his generation, was in early life a salesman for H. C. Redington & Co. and was also a director in the New Hampshire Scythe Company. His only venture as a merchant was as a member of the firm with Messrs. Hale & Abbott, though he was a trader all his active life, a Yankee of Yankees in this respect. The firm was located at No. 1 Union Block. Con- finement to an office and deprivation of the pleasure of visiting the friends of many years were not to his liking, and he withdrew from a business that required a fixed habitation. Mr. Edson, being the son of his father, could not fail to be interested in political affairs. It was, however, as an adviser rather than as a public functionary, that he derived his chief pleasure from this source as well as conferred the greatest benefit upon his party. Often importuned to accept town offices, he as often refused, and the only public position he held was that of Representative in 1869 and 1870. He was a man of pleasing personality, of medium height, broad-shouldered, rotund, and fair, with dark eyes that may have shown the glint of steel, but the world only saw the kindly expression that lurked in their corners. Genial and kindly, he met the joys and sorrows of life with a smile that will be remembered by all who knew him as the distinguishing feature of his personal appearance. He married, in 1844, Hannah M. Varney, of Danville, Vt. They had two children, George Alden and Sue Caroline, wife of Charles G. Morrison. Mr. Edson died July 16, 1878.
Otis G. Hale was a public character, much of his time having been devoted to the administration of town affairs during his residence here. Like Mr. Edson, his direct interest in mercantile matters was in connection with the same firm, though before com-
1
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Merchants.
ing here he had been in trade at Lower Waterford several years and was well grounded in the intricacies of the business. He was a clear-sighted and honorable business man who possessed the entire confidence of the community.1
George Abbott was reared a farmer, and followed the business with success, succeeding to his father's farm on the Mann's hill road near the Dalton line. About the time he moved to the vil- lage, he bought of Samuel Phillips the house on Cottage Street in which he lived until his death, in 1899. In 1870 he purchased an interest in the firm of Hale & Edson (Otis G. Hale and Samuel A. Edson). His son, George F. Abbott, became his partner in 1872. The following year the firm purchased the drug business of L. P. Parker & Son, sold their dry-goods to Farr & Dow, and moved to their new business in the same block, where they re- mained until they sold it to Wilbur Fisk Robins, in 1878. At this time the senior partner retired, and the junior went to Tilton, where he was in business some years before his return to this town. George Abbott was identified with the Methodist Church for half a century. He was among the small number of men who united to erect the church of that denomination in 1850, and was never lax in duty. He served the town as a member of the Board of Selectmen, and was twice Representative in the General Court. He was a quiet man who pursued the even tenor of his way without imposing himself upon the attention of people, and filled successfully all the requirements of good citizenship.
The store on Main Street, east of Saranac, built by Eastman, Mattocks, & Co. in 1840-1841, has had an eventful history both in regard to proprietors and the amount of business transacted over its counters. In 1870 it was owned by George Farr, and occupied by Farr & Southworth. In 1873 Captain Farr retired and was succeeded by George E. Lovejoy, and the firm became Southworth & Lovejoy. In 1876 Charles Taylor joined the firm, which was known as Southworth, Lovejoy, & Taylor for three years, when Mr. Taylor sold to Fred H. English, whose name was substituted in the company name for that of the retiring member. In 1883 the firm of Southworth, Lovejoy, & English was dissolved by the retirement of the junior partner to go into business with Charles Eaton, and the style of the house was once more Southworth & Lovejoy.
In 1890 Mr. Lovejoy died. He was a young man of integrity, and possessed many qualities that rendered him popular among
1 Mr. Hale was so intimately connected with municipal administration that a sketch of him has been inserted in Vol. I. Chap. XXVI. of this work.
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History of Littleton.
his townsmen. At the time of his death he held the position of town clerk, and was an officer of the Musical Association. He was one of the young business men of whom great expectations were entertained by the public, which would doubtless have been realized had he been spared to fill out the measure of man's allotted years. Upon his death Henry F. and Harry D. Green purchased the interest he had held in the firm, and the title became H. H. Southworth & Co. In 1892 Frank Dunlap was a partner in the house for some eighteen months, and in 1894 James Harrington bought Mr. Southworth's interest, and in 1896 that of Harry D. Green also. Henry F. Green had sold his share to his son at the time Mr. Harrington joined the company ; William J. Harrington, a brother of James, entered the firm at this time, and its name was changed to Harrington & Co. Shortly after this event the business was removed to the McCoy building, and a miscellaneous stock changed to that of groceries alone. Since their abandonment of the old Eastman store it has been occupied successively as a tin-shop by Royal P. White, George L. Flanders & Co., and is now used as a carriage mart by Rich- ardson & Kimball.
Hartwell H. Southworth, who was so long identified with the trade of the town, was born in Fairlee, Vt., in February, 1829, and died in Littleton June 3, 1902. He was descended, on his father's side, from Edward Southworth, of Lyddon, England, whose wife was Alice Carpenter. Previous to her marriage she had been affianced to William Bradford, afterward Governor of Plymouth Colony. Her husband having died in 1620, she with her two sons came to Plymouth, where she soon after became the wife of Governor Bradford, under whose care the sons of Edward South- worth were reared. Constance, the eldest of the sons, was the progenitor of Hartwell H. Southworth. On his mother's side he was connected with Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution.
In his younger days Mr. Southworth was a teacher of note, his last engagement in this capacity having been at Whitefield, where he had charge of the Academy. When he came here it was to enter the store of William Bailey as a clerk.
Prior to his retirement from business he had held the office of Selectman three terms. His later years were mainly passed in the public service as collector of taxes. He also served as a member of the Board of Education for Union School District, and was for some years a trustee of the Savings Bank.
As a business man Mr. Southworth did not belong to the modern school of hustlers. He was retiring but efficient, and
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Merchants.
his integrity was of the quality that shines in the countenance and is felt in deeds. He was of refined and scholarly habits, as free from prejudice as the nature of man will permit. His mind was open to the truth, and its white light was his guide in all the duties of citizenship.
Noah Farr had seven children, of whom Nelson C. was the youngest. The father was brought up on a farm, and regarded the pursuit of agriculture as one of the cardinal duties of man and the chief source of wealth, - a reason that was weighty with him in determining the settlement of his children. When he found Nelson, the weakling of the flock, too puny to make a success among the stumps and stones on Farr Hill, he most reluctantly consented to his entering a store with a view to eventually going into trade. Too puny for a farmer, he was good enough for a storekeeper. The lad's first experience as a salesman was made before he was sixteen, and ere he had reached the age of twenty, with a small capital saved from the meagre sum he received for four years' service, he embarked in business on his own account, occupying a lean-to built against the easterly side of the Old Yellow Store. He remained here less than 'a year, but in these few months he had not been idle. He had not only increased his capital by what would be regarded as a handsome sum over the original investment, but he came to know that his methods of honesty, economy, and industry would lead to eventual success. In 1844 he went to Bethlehem, where he opened a store, and for the next seventeen years prospered and earned a reputation as an enterprising and honorable merchant. There he was soon brought into competition with John G. Sinclair, and by prudence and strict attention to the details of his business continued to reach a satisfactory result on the annual balance sheet. But Bethlehem was not the home of the Farrs, and he longed for a closer con- nection with his kin, so in 1863 we find him in trade in this town, where he had purchased the stock of Royal D. Rounsevel, and subsequently became the owner of the store where he was in busi- ness until his death. This property is now an annex to the Northern Hotel. Mr. Farr was a close buyer, and, until within a year or two of his death, always discounted his bills for cash. When he found the profits increasing beyond the demands of his business, he invested in real estate and in the stock of the New Hampshire Scythe and Axe Company. He held at one time a large block of stock in the Union Hall Company. When his fellow stockholders had lost faith in their ability to put the Scythe and Axe Company on a paying basis, he took over some of their
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History of Littleton.
stock and assumed its obligations. He did not live to witness the final catastrophe, but there is little doubt that anxiety growing out of this business was largely instrumental in causing lris death.
The Farr family has been connected with the Congregational Church of the town for nearly, if not quite, a century. Thirty- five bearing the name are on the church rolls, it has given three deacons to the organization, and a daughter of Deacon Noah Farr became the wife of Deacon Marshall Cobleigh. Nelson C. joined the church in this town by profession of faith in May, 1843. In 1847 he was admitted to membership in the church at Bethlehem by letter from the church in this town, in 1859 was chosen deacon, and in 1863 again became a member of this church, and was elected one of its deacons the same year, and held this office until his death.
The Farrs, as a family, have not been unmindful of their quali- fications to serve the people in public stations, and they have often had office thrust upon them. This deacon seems to have been an exception to the rule and never held public positions. He was a member of Burns Lodge, A. F. and A. M., and of St. Gerard Commandery. He was an unassuming man of gentlemanly bear- ing, who took a serious view of life and its responsibilities, and confined his activities to his business, his church, and the Masonic bodies with which he was connected. In each he accomplished much for society and the town. He was twice married, but left no children.
If Noah Farr could have known the number of his descendants who were to engage in trade, with his views of life and business, he would have been filled with anxiety for the future of his progeny. John, Nelson C., George, John Jr., Charles A., and others were merchants. Charles A., the youngest child of John, was a clerk in his uncle's store. In 1870, in company with John F. Tilton, he formed the firm of Farr & Tilton. They began business by purchasing the stock of boots and shoes and renting the Thayer store of Marquis L. Goold. The young men remained at this stand until 1873, when they bought the dry-goods stock of G. & G. F. Abbott and removed to the store in Union Block, now occupied by Edwin H. Gould. Mr. Farr subse- quently disposed of his share in this concern to William H. Tilton, then of Worcester, Mass., who sold to his younger brother, Fred A., when he had attained his majority. William H. went to San Francisco, Cal., where he has been connected with James Carroll for many years in the clothing business. When Mr. Farr with- drew, the firm name became Tilton Brothers, and so continued
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Merchants.
to 1886, when it was dissolved, the senior partner retiring from business and the junior removing to Spokane, Wash., where he died in 1893.
At the time Charles A. Farr withdrew from Farr & Tilton in 1874 he joined Arthur F. Dow in establishing a mercantile firm under the title of Farr & Dow. The firm began business in the building then just vacated by Kilburn Brothers and refitted it for their business. The company had a large trade. It chanced that Robert M. Dow desired an interest in the firm, and Mr. Farr sold to him. Mr. Farr rented the store in Eastman Block, where lie was in business until 1893. He then retired and has since been in the insurance business. He is now a member of the firm of Tillotson & Farr.
Upon the admission of Robert M. Dow to the firm, it took the name of Dow Brothers. These young men had the blood of several generations of Littleton people in their veins.
Their grandfathers were Capt. James Dow and Solomon Fitch, their grandmothers Lydia Thompson Dow and Mary Fuller Fitch, all of whom passed their mature lives in the town ; and their parents were born and bred on its soil. Both were enterprising merchants and soon commanded a large business. Their trade was in general merchandise, but they carried an exceptionally large stock of dry-goods which in variety of style and quality was superior to any in this section of the State and drew a consid- erable patronage from abroad. Close attention to business impaired the health of both, and Robert sold his interest to his partner and retired in the hope that freedom from care might enable him to regain his lost health. This expectation was not realized, and he passed away in 1890. Arthur, at the time he assumed this additional burden, was also laden with the perplexing cares of the creamery which he had established in company with N. B. Dalton. With this business neither partner was familiar, and they consequently encountered many unnecessary obstacles in their efforts to make it a success, and Mr. Dow was soon compelled to take and manage the property. The multiplied responsibilities were too heavy for his enfeebled constitution and in 1893 he followed his brother to the spirit land. Few of the men who have added to the mercantile fame of the town possessed in a larger degree the essential qualities of success in this branch of business than did these young men. They were tireless workers, with a clear comprehension of the wants of the public and the tendencies of trade, and had an ambition to keep in the advance line. In these respects, as well as in judgment, enter-
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History of Littleton.
prise, and honor, they achieved a notable success and left behind them few enemies and many friends.
The old Brackett store, now known as Calhoun Block, has had many tenants since William C., Aaron, and Charles W. Brackett gave it over to such occupancy, and of these tenants the firm of which Charles Eaton was for a quarter of a century the head has, with the possible exception of Alonzo Weeks, had the longest lease. This firm was established in 1868 as Weeks, Eaton, & Calhoun, and dealt in boots, shoes, groceries, and meats. Alonzo Weeks put in his stock of boots and shoes, and the other partners the goods in which they had dealt at North Lisbon before coming
here. Mr. Weeks was an extremely conservative man. A cus- toms shoemaker by trade, he had conducted a good business in that line for a quarter of a century and had an original method of keeping his books and, in general, of doing business. The push- ing methods of his young partners he regarded as altogether too hazardous for safety, and at the end of a year he withdrew, taking the class of goods he had contributed to the company, and the other partners continued the grocery and provision branch until 1873, when Charles D. Tarbell, who had fitted up a new saw-mill at South Littleton, traded an interest in that establishment for one in the grocery store. Mr. Calhoun withdrew, and the firm name became Eaton, Tarbell, & Co. until 1877, when Henry F. Green was admitted as a partner and the title was changed to that of Eaton, Tarbell, & Green. Deacon Tarbell withdrew in 1879. Eaton & Green continued three years, when Fred H. English bought out Mr. Green and the firm of Eaton & English was formed. In 1886 Mr. Eaton sold his share in the firm to Frank P. Bond. The firm name became English & Bond and so remained until 1901, when Mr. English purchased his partner's interest and is now the sole owner of this long-established and prosperous business house.
From its foundation the men who at different times have been connected with this firm, have been of a class who naturally inspire confidence in their integrity and ability and whose ser- vices are sought by their fellow citizens to discharge public trusts. Alonzo Weeks was a man whose life followed a narrow rut. He shrank from touching anything but leather and money; these articles he knew and valued at their real worth. An exemplary and most useful citizen, he was frequently called and sometimes forced to fill positions of trust at times when his known integrity was of real service to the town as well as to his party. He was one of the Selectmen in 1864 and in 1878; town treasurer from
ISAAC CALHOUN.
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Merchants.
1871 to 1884 inclusive, and town clerk in 1856. He was a rigid Democrat in politics, and in religious opinions a Universalist. For seventeen years he regularly attended service at the Congre- gational Church and then at the Methodist, whose house of worship he assisted in building. Here he occasionally listened to a sermon denouncing in vigorous tones the tenets of his faith. But he had his reward when the annual subscription list was presented for his signature, which he affixed without a word of protest, with a liberal sum appended. He was a member of Burns Lodge A. F. and A. M., and loved the order and faithfully served it as treas- urer for more than thirty years. During this long period he was seldom absent from his post of duty at lodge meetings. Half a century ago boots and shoes were all made at the village shops, and though the ready-made article soon after began to invade this region, it was a long time before it dispossessed the old custom boot and slioe. Mr. Weeks came here from Danville, Vt., in 1833, and succeeded Levi P. and Webster B. Merrill, who had been in the business for ten or twelve years. Mr. Weeks was methodical, obliging, and unremittingly attentive to business and soon had a considerable trade. For a long period he employed from five to eight journeymen, and the pleasant relations between employer and employee are shown by the fact that his journeymen usually remained in his employ for years. Joshua B. Shaw was the first man he set to work when he opened his shop in 1833, and was the last to quit when it was finally closed in 1882. Another was Thomas S. Nurse, who learned' his trade with Mr. Weeks and never had another employer, remaining with him until he retired from the business when custom work was driven from the market by ready-made. Mr. Nurse then continued to make custom work at his residence for the few old-fashioned people who preferred that class of footwear. Mr. Weeks was for a brief period engaged in the glove business, and tried several other branches of trade with indifferent success after he ceased to be a knight of the last. He died in 1892. He was universally respected in this community, where he had made his home for fifty-nine years.
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